Bacon, Cheddar, Cheeseburger Meatza

The process of making a Meatza is right here in this previous post. In this case, it was inspired by a pizza I used to order from one of the pizza places years back. It’s the standard 2 pounds of ground beef (grassfed in this case), about 8 slices of bacon sliced and fried, about 2/3 of a small yellow onion, and a decent block of cheddar cheese. Then it’s 1/2 bottle of Trader Joe’s pizza sauce. I did toss all the ingredients together (bacon, onion, cheese) for a nice even distribution. Click for the pretty images.

Bacon Cheddar Cheesburger Meatza

And, if you like your burgers with produce, we have produce.

With Produce

Now it’s time for some lunch at 1:40 pm, my first meal of the day. I did a fasted workout at 10:30. Spent 5 minutes in the 40 degree (F) cold plunge and and just now getting hungry. Leftover meatza and perhaps a fatty shake with an egg in it.

You’ve mentioned the cold plunge before. When I lived in Houston I actually looked around at nearby gyms to see if any of them had cold plunges; no luck. But now I live in the mountains – cold weather all the time. I can do a “cold plunge” by walking outside!

The primary benefit seems to be thermogenesis – convincing your body to adapt itself to cold weather, instead of piling on layers of clothing. This would be especially beneficial to me here, since I’m spending lots of time in the snow. Do you think it helps metabolism in general? Good for workouts? What got you trying cold plunges, and what benefits have you seen?

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I tried the cold plunge because after the workout and then the sauna, steam room and jacuzzi I was really rung out. The cold plunge is like pressing a reboot button. Instantly you are alert and feel euphoric. I love it. At first 15 seconds was all I could tolerate, but over the nearly three years now I have built up to where I can last 12 minutes, maybe even more, but that’s the most I’ve done. Typically, however, I do anywhere from 1-5 minutes. I don’t like doing the same thing all the time. Keep the bod guessing.

I was just reading two posts by Hyperlipid (link below, two top posts) on vitamin D levels and cancer. To say that they were interesting is an understatement. (One of them deals with meat consumption.)

If I understand the posts correctly, the main message is that blood levels of vitamin D may be low or high, but they need to be kept at a constant level. Erratic supplementation leads to an increased risk of cancer, even if that leads to high levels of blood vitamin D on average.

Not as simple as one would think … but life is not simple!

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Yea I read those posts as well as, I believe, either Cannell’s or Hollic’s view of Vieth’s research. I’m inclined to think there’s a difference between having a continuous level above 50ng/ml, and fluctuating higher and lower while remaining above that level, and fluctuations that involve going below it where one is no longer storing much if any substrate but simply converting it to the active form as it comes in.

Vieth is very clear in his recommendations, which he makes in several articles. I am reviewing his most widely cited one, published in 1999. There he recommends supplementation or UVB exposure to maintain high levels, > 150 nmol/L, as you do.

By the way, this may be one of the reasons why your HDL is so high, in addition to the high SF intake. Vitamin D and HDL levels are correlated, in some people strongly.

The threshold for toxicity seems to be 50,000 IU per day, with only one person showing toxicity symptoms at 10,000 IU per day (from Vieth’s review). Since this was an obvious outlier, I am looking for an explanation (which Vieth does not provide in the article).

By the way, in spite of claims to the contrary, vitamin D production based on sunlight does not cease after 40 years of age or so.

Studies reviewed by (again) Vieth suggest that among the elderly (i.e., those aged 65 or above) pre-sunburn full-body exposure to sunlight is equivalent to an oral vitamin D intake of 218 µg (8700 IU). This is close to the 10,000 IU produced by a 30 year old.

Shockingly my kids have accepted Meatzas for our weekly Friday night movie night dinner! There has been a lot of talk here and at Marks about kids and eating, and things like this are the things that have helped the transition not feel so much like depravation. I highly recommend good seasoning of the meat (we love the garlic and italian herbs), make the meat thin, and make sure you use pizza sauce. Otherwise it’s more just a cheese burger made into a slab! Thanks Richard, for putting this out, it’s so much better then those fake “bread-like” crusts people try to make. It’s filling, and honestly, really satisfying.

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I make pizza sauce out of a small can of tomato paste that I thin with water to the consistency I like. I add some italian seasoning and garlic powder to it and it’s perfect. Just look for the cans that say tomatoes as the only ingredient. Some brands have added sugar.

Hey Richard, what is a “fatty shake?” Wow that meatza looks good. I’m thinking of doing a taco thing like that or something enchilada-like but without the corn tortillas. Every now and then I get the craving.

TrailGrrl

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See the pork shoulder sous vide I just posted where I list my ingredients. But that’s just one version. I have many. Often I’ll use coconut milk, or coconut oil, or even a large pat of butter. In fact, an egg, cream, yogurt and a big pat of butter that you’ve put in the frezer makes an excellent chunky “buttermilk.”

Now that you are moderate-carbing, do your carbs come from fruit and veges only or do you now include other carbs such as bread or other grains occasionally? Are you grain free?

I ask, as I’m struggling to work out what balance is. I’m tired of being a food nazi :-)

I like the Weston Price diet, but have been more paleo/grain free after following your blog and Marks etc. I was making an occasional almond flour recipe as a bit of a treat now and then. Then I read on Cheeseslaves blog (Rami’s post) about nuts and seeds being worse than grains. So apparently, almond flour recipes are not a healthier alternative as previously thought.

Is it ok to have say, 1 or 2 treats a week (80:20 balance) where you can have have a grain, or red wine, or treat etc if the rest of the meals for the week are paleo with carbs from fruit and veges only? How do you do it? Balance your healthy foods with less healthy foods, that is.

Thank you Richard.

Callie.

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Grain free, other than the very infrequent indulgence. Most of my carbs come from some raw milk that I drink intermittently, i.e., I’ll get a gallon, drink it over a couple of weeks (raw keeps a long time) and then won’t buy any for some weeks. Also, I do eat potato 2-3 times per week.

I’m eating less and less nuts and try to stick to macadamia. I agree about the almond flour. I use it, but very sparingly.

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I'm Richard Nikoley. Free the Animal began in 2003, and as of 2017, contains over 4,500 posts and 100,000 comments from readers. I cover a lot of ground, blogging what I wish...from health, diet, and lifestyle to philosophy, politics, social issues, and cryptocurrency. I celebrate the audacity and hubris to live by your own exclusive authority and take your own chances in life. [Read more...]

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